No doubt many in the motoring world were jubilant this week after news that we may well be winning the war against car crime. Our weapon – more high-tech, secure vehicles.

According to motor insurance repair research centre, Thatcham, car thefts have dropped significantly over the last three years, with 107,000 vehicles stolen in 2010, compared to 119,000 in 2009 and 143,000 the previous year.

Such is the talent and innovation of motor manufacturers that the modern automotive is now akin to the poison dart frog – by its very engineering it is beautiful and designed to repel predators.

Andrew Miller, director of research at Thatcham, said the decrease in thefts was “mainly due to the incredible improvements to a raft of security systems including alarms, locks, immobilisers, toughened glass and tracking devices”.

Meanwhile BBC transport correspondent, Richard Scott, said that new cars are very difficult to steal unless the criminals have the keys, which are coded.

There is an important lesson here. Modern cars are built to take care of their own security, but their owners are known to be less reliable. Recent figures from vehicle security expert, Tracker, suggesting that 84 per cent of all cars stolen and later recovered involve the theft of the owner’s keys.